After reading many posts like this I finally picked up a very basic analog set-up for my system. I had not listened to a record in probably 15 years (in part because I left my 200+ record collection in the basement of my dorm figuring I'd never need them again with the advent of CD's.) All in, I spent about $500 ($275 for sota comet with LMT III arm) ($100 for a new Grado Gold cartridge) and $100 for a new Sumiko Phono Pre amp. Hooked this stuff into my system (BAT VK3i, VTL 185 monos and Revel F30's) and wow!! All you analog guys were right on. I could not believe how more lifelike everything sounded. Needless to say my Christmas list is pretty simple this year - LP's, Lp's and more LP's.
Am I nuts or what?
I am a dedicated analog listener but have an open mind and am willing to give digital a chance...again and again...so I decide to listen to McCartney's Tug of War. I pull the vinyl off the shelf and give it a good cleaning noticing that I hadn't taken very care of my discs in the 80s. Anyhow, I slap it on the VPI TNT and start listening...not bad, but not great either due to the occasional tick - I notice on the cover that the album was digitally mixed. Hmmm - I go and pull the CD off the shelf - late 80s purchase when I got sucked into replacing my vinyl collection - made in Japan...I slid it into my ARC CD player and was shocked at the noise that came out of my speakers...it was so thin sounding that I thought that something must be wrong with my CD set-up - metallic, tinny crud...I was thankful to have even a mediocre copy in vinyl.
I just can't believe how an album that was digitally mixed could sound so bloody awful on CD. I do have some CD's that sound great but the vast majority can't even come close to the original vinyl. Sorry for the rant, but it's been awhile since I've listened to a CD.
I just can't believe how an album that was digitally mixed could sound so bloody awful on CD. I do have some CD's that sound great but the vast majority can't even come close to the original vinyl. Sorry for the rant, but it's been awhile since I've listened to a CD.